Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (not my recipe...just want to try it)
prep time: 15 minutes | cooking time: 32 minutes | makes 4 dozen cookies


Note: I use flax seeds because they make the texture a little chewier, but I've made them without and they're still good!

Equipment:
baking sheets
2 mixing bowls

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.

Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a seperate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in walnuts and raisins.

Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You'll have enough batter for 4 trays.

Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they've had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day!

Farm Musings

Do you like salad? If you eat it, chances are the lettuce (or spinach or specialty green) you find in it come from here where I live. This field was just harvested today, for at least the third time this growing season. It is right next to where I work in Watsonville, which happens to be the home of Martinelli’s (the apple juice bottling company), Driscoll’s (the strawberry people), SunRidge Farms (the trail mix people), and Dole (produce kings). Watsonville grows more strawberries than anywhere in the world. Just 20 minutes down the road, Castroville is the artichoke-growing capital of the world. Inland 20 minutes is Gilroy, the main garlic-producer in the U.S. And Salinas, only 30 minutes south, is known as the world’s salad bowl. Earthbound Farms (organic lettuce and specialty produce grower) is 45 minutes south in Carmel. And there are others.

When most people think of Santa Cruz or the Central Coast, they probably think of surfing or skateboarding or coastline and beaches. Farming is actually a much larger way of life here than wave-riding. It just isn’t quite as glamorous. It’s true that large-scale farming has wiped out much of the small family farms everywhere in the U.S., but some small farmers seem to be eeking out an existence here, thanks to lots of local, regional, and statewide organizing and policy work, and organizations like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and California Association of Family Farms (CAFF). The Association of Land-Based Agriculture even works with migrant farmworkers and seasonal workers to help them start to own their own farms and find niches in the market to support their families.

Campaigns like Buy Fresh Buy Local encourage the public here to invest their food dollars in locally-grown produce, and small family farms actually deliver produce boxes to local families who pay for a “share” of whatever they are harvesting. We are one such family, and we love it. The farm we own a “share” in delivers food from Monterey all the way to San Francisco. And local restaurants make a big deal about cooking with all local, in-season produce. It’s quite gourmet. People pay lots of money to eat at these restaurants, and at least some of the profit is passed on to the farms who supply those eateries with seasonal ingredients.

Here is the guy currently responsible for much of the policy around food and farming in California—A.G. Kawamura:




He is our current State Secretary of Food & Agriculture. I had a chance to hang out with him and his press secretary most of the day yesterday at our Nutrition Summit, where he was the keynote speaker and I was our press liason. He’s taking a lot of heat at the moment—and for legitimate reasons, I think—but I was impressed with him. Whatever California does well or poorly, one thing is sure: few states in the U.S. can say they’ve done more to work with family farmers to find new ways to compete in a market dominated by huge agribusiness. It was really neat to get a chance to meet someone who helps make that happen.

Call for Submissions! That means YOU!

Hi Blog Readers Near and Far:
I'm putting together an envelope full of advice from friends and family for the birth coming up in about 7 weeks! We are planning a natural, unmedicated childbirth, so I need words of wisdom, encouragement, and advice from YOU. Here's what you can do:

1. If you are a friend or reader--post a comment on this blog post or email it to me with your words of advice, encouragement, wisdom, etc. that you think would be helpful to read when I'm in labor and wishing for anything to dull the pain! It can be something you've heard, read, or just a well wish.

2. If you are a friend or reader who has been through childbirth--post a comment on this blog or email it to me with some sage advice on getting through the stages of labor. Have a favorite mantra or position that worked for you? Pass it on!

3. If you are a friend or reader who has been through natural, unmedicated childbirth--post your comment or email me with some things that worked when you were, oh, around 7cm or 8cm and feeling your worst! Share *anything* that helped...positions, breathing patterns, visualizations, massage techniques, etc. etc.

Extra Credit--If your husbands/partners/boyfriends/guy friends have any advice for Abe, send it along as well!

The idea is that I'll cut these up, fold them, put them in an envelope, and tote them to the birthing center with me. When I feel like I just can't make it a second longer, I'll give myself a goal of waiting five minutes and pulling out some encouraging words to keep me going. SO, YOUR sage advice could be the thing I read that gets me through the worst of labor!

I know this probably sounds hokey, but I've always been a milepost kind of person...it gives me some sense of control and something to work for. So start writing.....believe me, it'll be appreciated!

Counting down (and waiting for your thoughts),
Me